It was another day at Wonderbolts Academy, another round of testing and exercises. Ever since that obstacle course, Rainbow Dash had been keeping an eye on Lightning Dust. Nothing too out of the ordinary seemed to be going on. Maybe she had been overreacting when she had sent that letter to Twilight? She knew Spike would be disappointed that he wouldn’t be snagging any medals.
‘Even if she doesn’t have medals, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t keep an eye on her. She could be using some kind of performance enhancer.’Dash nodded to herself, idly considering looking through Dust’s bag or locker for any sign of the drugs. She wanted to trust Dust, but cheating to get into the Wonderbolts was something she couldn’t let slide.
‘Would she leave that kinda thing in her locker? Nah, she’s smarter than that. But, if not there, where?’
The sound of Spitfire's whistle tore her out of her thoughts, compelling her to line up at the landing strip. Once all the recruits were assembled, the Wonderbolt captain went on her usual tirade.
Dash found her gaze drifting towards Lightning, lingering doubts clouding her mind. ‘You have to be the sane one, Dash. Keep her from going off the rails if she is on something. She might get upset at you if you have to out her, but if she's worth having as a friend then she'll understand.’
“Are you listening to me, Rainbow Dash!?” Spitfire shouted, suddenly in Dash’s face. “Or are you too busy fantasizing about your flight partner?!”
The rest of the recruits snickered at Dash's predicament as she snapped to attention. “Sorry ma'am, I was listening! You were stressing the importance of angling our feathers during a corkscrew!”
“Then you won’t mind demonstrating.” Spitfire pulled back, eyeing Dash expectantly.
Dash snapped a salute, shooting off into the air. She started the corkscrew, recreating the stunt to the best of her ability given Spitfire's explanation. Driving her worries to the back of her mind, she put her all into her flight. Once she felt that she had concluded the stunt to the best of her abilities, she landed in front of the captain.
“Performed as ordered, Ma’am!” Dash saluted, meeting Spitfire’s eyes.
“Good form, recruit,” Spitfire said, pointing Dash to her place in line. “But next time, eyes forward.” Fluffing her wings, she resumed belting out insults before splitting them up into their pairs. “Now show us what you got!”
“You alright, Dash?” Lightning asked, stretching her wings. “You've been kinda out of it the last couple days.”
“Yeah, I’m fine.” Dash got into a sprinting position, her wings spread. “What about you? You doing okay? Not cracking under the pressure, are you?”
Dust smiled, getting into her own position. “I'm gonna let you in on something, just because you've been a good friend, Dash. I was pretty nervous coming here. But, ever since we crushed that obstacle course, I know we got this.”
Nodding, Dash braced herself for the starting bang. “Just keep your head in the game, right? A cool head and a steady pace will always win in the end.”
“And if I lose my head again, I've got the best wing pony ever flying by me,” Dust replied, her wings twitching in anticipation. “As long as you got my back, I’ll be fine.”
“Yeah, I got your back,” Dash assured. Before either of the two could complain about getting too sappy all of a sudden, the signal started to begin their wing sprints.
When the signal rang out, Dash pushed herself forward, letting her wings take over for her legs. Despite her need to keep an eye on Dust, Rainbow couldn’t help but lose herself into the sensation of flight. Being up in the air and pushing herself to her limits made her feel complete. This was the perfect place for her, she knew it. The challenge felt so right.
“Faster!” Lightning shouted besides her, glaring through her goggles. “You're slowing us down, Rainbow! Go faster!”
“Lightning, this is just a warm up,” Dash argued, quirking a brow at the other mare. “There’s no need to wear ourselves out before the actual competitions start.”
“I don't care! We have to go faster!” Dust sped onward, her color trail tinted red. “We have to be the best! It's what we were born for!”
“Dust!” Dash shouted, trailing after her flight partner. “You're losing your head again!” Reaching out, she snagged the end of Dust's tail. “Keep a cool head, remember!?”
Dust grunted, glaring back at Dash for a moment. She paused, seeming to process Dash's words with a dazed expression. “What was I saying?” Shaking her head, she reduced her speed. “Ugh, I need to get to bed earlier.”
“Well, you certainly do need more beauty sleep,” Dash teased, hoping to bleed out the tension. “The rest of you is nice to look at. Your face though? That needs work.”
“Very funny, Dash,” Lightning replied, rolling her eyes while continuing the exercise.
Satisfied that Lightning had been calmed down, Rainbow and Lightning flew off to complete their exercise. Later that day, they were grouped into two teams and played a modified version of capture the flag. The biggest change, one member of each team was the flag. Lightning Dust jumped at the chance to dodge an entire team. She even went so far as to stand out in the open and darted out of a six pegasus pile-up.
In addition to the red glow, a blue streak entered her flight trial. “Ha that all you got?!” She weaved between ponies, almost looking as if she was Rainbow Dash. “You can't even eat my dust, I'm so fast!”
“Dust, get to a hiding spot!” Dash cried, tackling a mare that was trying to sneak up on Lightning. “They're flanking us!”
“Hide? Ha! Who needs to hide when you're faster than them?” Dust zipped around the course with ease. “Look at them, ostriches the lot of them!”
“Uh, Dust, that insult doesn't really make sense considering ostriches are pretty fast,” Dash said, wrestling the mare to the ground. She had Fluttershy to thank for that factoid. “Dust, seriously, calm down! I'm starting to think you are using something.”
“I'm not using anything!” Dust laughed off. “Unless you count lucky charms as performance enhancers!”
“...What kind of lucky charms?” Dash asked, her stomach sinking to her hooves.
“These three coins,” Dust replied, patting her neck where a small indent could be seen beneath her uniform. “Got em from some old drake. Didn't think I needed the luck but, why take the chance?”
“Uh, are these coins colorful, got animals on them?” Dash questioned, a cold sweat forming on the back of her neck.
“We're wasting time! We have to catch the other flags!” With a beat of her wings, Lightning was in the air again. “Hurry the Tartarus up!”
Grunting, Dash pushed off the mare she had restrained and followed after Lightning. She was suddenly glad she had sent that letter, but she'd need to write a follow-up. ‘She's gonna end up killing someone, Faust damn those stupid coins!’
The next day, the flight partners were told to blindfold one member and have the other lead them through a course. Lightning’s only directions to a blind Dash was to, ‘hurry up!’. Rainbow Dash grit her teeth, getting a light zap Everytime she went in the wrong direction.
“Hey! Quit zapping me, Dust! It's not helping!”
“I'm not zapping you! That's the course doing that. Just hurry up!”
“How about some actual directions please?” Dash pleaded, throwing her hands out in front of her to try and feel out her way. “If you want me to hurry up, tell me where to go!”
Dust groaned, tapping her hoof against the tarmac impatiently. “Fine, keep going forward for about ten feet before making a sharp right. And be quick about it!”
“Twilight and the others better show up soon, or I'm going to rider kick Dust in the face,” Dash grumbled, following Dust’s directions. Eventually, she managed to cross the finish line, her fur standing on edge and singed in places. “That sucked.”
“We still got in first, even if you were slow,” Dust commented, moving over to her. “Just do better next time.”
Dash grumbled, trying to remind herself that this was the fault of the coins. That didn’t stop her from having the urge to strangle the other mare for her attitude shift. “Let's just take five okay? I think we've earned that.”
Dust rolled her eyes, going to her gym bag. “Fine, there isn’t any training coming up for a while anyway.”
Their next event came later in the day, with a leap of faith through cloud cover. Nothing unfortunate happened there, but it was clear that Dust was irked that the event had nothing to do with showing off or speed. She was getting worse, her comradery slipping away to make room for more desire to go fast.
“Faust damnit, I need rider powers,” Dash grumbled, staring back at the barracks. She stood at the edge of a plank, her back to open sky. “Dust! You better catch me!”
“Yeah, yeah, course I will!” Dust shouted up. “Now just hurry up and jump ya big chicken!”
Taking in a breath, Dash closed her eyes and allowed herself to fall backward. The familiar pull of gravity pulled her towards the earth, wind rushing past her. A thrill ran along her spine, threatening to make her wings spread. She kept them to her side, knowing she couldn’t even glide for this test. She braced herself, hoping that Lightning would come through for her.
‘Come on, come on, come on! You’re all about going fast, hurry up and catch me!’
Before Dash could hit terminal velocity, she felt something rush towards her and grab her by the shoulders. “Wohoo! How was that Dash?! Wasn't that a rush of speed?!”
“I would have liked to have been caught sooner,” Dash replied, glancing up at her partner.
“Hey, I didn't let you go splat, relax,” Dust dismissed, bringing in the two for a landing. “Come on, it was fun, wasn’t it?”
Dash sighed, straightening herself out as her hooves touched the ground. “Yeah, it was a little fun. You feeling okay, Dust? You look a little... wired.”
“Hmm?” Dust questioned, having already looked away. “Yeah, I feel great. Never better. Might just be adrenaline from all the flying.” Spreading her wings, she took off again. “Gonna do another set of laps! Come on, we can race the whole thing!”
“Uh, I think I'm just gonna hit the showers. Have fun with the laps, Dust.” Patting the mare's shoulder, she turned to the bunkhouse. “Have fun flying laps.” She cringed back coughing on the dust from Dust’s take off. Brushing herself off, she took off towards the bunkhouse. “Really looking forward to her getting those coins away from her,” she muttered.
Spike snapped a picture, watching as the crane lowered the crystal platform into place. Work had begun to place teleporter pads in Equestria's major cities and Silver Quill had assigned Wyatt and Spike to cover the installation of the Fillydelphia node.
Wyatt was off talking to one of the workers, trying to get the average person’s perspective on the pads. Tapping his pen on a notepad he asked, “So, what do you think of Princess Celestia’s plan with these pads? Do you think it’ll work out?”
“I think she's got a good idea goin’,” the burley stallion grunted. “I don't see the mayor doin’ nuffin bout it. Old nag doin nuffin but sayin’ fancy words.”
Wyatt wanted to tell the stallion that conventional weapons and magic didn’t affect the monsters attacking them, but knew he couldn’t without interfering with the integrity of the article. “And what about the G-Project the princess announced, do you think that’s showing good results?”
“Dem rider guys look the part. I heard they saved that Crystal Empire. I'm still waitin’ on those weapons she promised.”
“Thank you for answering my questions, sir. Do you want me to credit you by name in my article?” the young man questioned, pausing in his note taking. “I can leave your testimony anonymous if you wish.”
Eyeing Wyatt closely, the worker snorted. “Youse can put my name on that jawn, Max Power.”
Nodding, Wyatt scratching the name down. “Has anyone ever commented that you’ve got a superhero name?” he joked, pocketing his notepad. Of course, he had to hold back a snicker, the stallion’s name being a reference to the classic series, The Simpsons.
“What’s so funny?” Max glared, making a show of cracking his knuckles.
“Sorry for that sir, I’m just still getting used to pony names. Max Power suits you. Thanks again and have a good day.” Waving at the worker, Wyatt turned and walked back over to Spike. “So, are you getting used to that camera? Adjusting the focus like I told you?”
“Yup!” Spike let the camera dangle from his neck. “I got some cool shots. Thorax even helped!”
“I didn’t know you had an eye for photography, Thorax.” Wyatt turned to the changeling in question. Spike had invited his friend to come along and Silver Quill had apparently given the okay. Either that or Spike had told a white lie, he was a teenager after all.
Thorax blushed, kicking at the dirt. “Well, when you're a changeling, you need an eye for detail. Otherwise, you might make a mistake.”
“That makes sense,” Wyatt said, nodding at Thorax. “If you guys think you’ve gotten enough photos, I’ve gotten my interviews. Most people here are all for the teleporters.” Pulling out his pad, he looked over his interviews. “Though I did notice that more than one person was critical of the mayor in the face of the monsters. Think we should try to snag an interview with them?”
“Would they want to?” Spike asked, watching a few changelings buzz about the pad. “She hasn't talked to any other newspaper, that I know of at least.”
Tapping his pen against his chin, Wyatt thought over his options. “Well, it can’t hurt to try. We owe it to the readers to give our story the most complete perspective possible. That’s the core of journalism. Reporting news, not creating or slanting it.”
Spike snickered, elbowing Thorax. “Listen to him talk. He hasn't even been a reporter for half a year and yet he already knows what it's all about.”
“I think he sounded cool just there,” Thorax admitted, his wings buzzing on his back. “I mean, it is an important job.”
“You only say that because you think he looks cute,” Spike countered, a slight hint of something in his voice.
Thorax’s face turned beet red, his wings twitching erratically on his back. “Wh-what?! That’s not it at all. I-I just,” his protests turned into indistinguishable mumbling, his hands waving frantically in front of his face.
Spike barked in laughter, slapping Thorax on the back. “Relax man, I don't care if you have a crush on Wyatt. Just don't let Twilight find out.”
“Spike, can you not tease Thorax about that stuff?” Wyatt pleaded, trading the notepad and pen he was holding for his camera. “Besides, Thorax can totally one up you in the teasing department. Thorax, why don’t you change into Rarity and just say, ‘Spikey Wikey’ on our way to city hall,” he concluded, flashing the changeling a wicked grin.
“W-well I uh...” Thorax gulped, his wings buzzing. “I don't want to make Spike feel bad. I can't do that to my best dragon buddy.”
“Nonsense,” Wyatt dismissed, putting a hand on Thorax’s shoulder. “It’s just two friends messing with each other. He just did it to you, so it’s your turn. Think of it like the prank wars that Pinkie and Rainbow Dash get in. There’s no hurt feelings at the end of those, right?”
Thorax nodded, his body shifting in green flame. Rarity primped her mane, batting her eyelashes at Spike. “Oh, Spikey Wikey, why must you tease poor Thorax so?”
Wyatt chuckled, taking a photo of Spike’s expression. Patting the drake’s shoulder, he led the trio out of the construction site. “And this my dear drake is what we humans call, karma.”
Spike's only reply was an irritated grumble, doing his best to not glance at the transformed changeling. Embracing the role, Thorax sashayed his hips.
“Come along, Spike! We have much to do today!”
Wyatt couldn’t hold back his snickering, enjoying every little shift in Spike’s expression. Thorax kept the act going, only dropping it once city hall was across the street from them. Thorax got a few looks, not that he seemed to mind.
“Alright, city hall,” Wyatt said, checking the streets for traffic. “I think once we’re done here we should snag a souvenir for Sombra and then see if we can hit a sight with whatever free time we have left.”
“I like the sound of that!” Thorax giggled, nodding his head. “I should get something nice for Rarity.”
“Why are you gonna get something for Rarity?” Spike questioned, finally making eye contact with his friend again. “Have you two been hanging out lately?” Taking a moment, his eyes lit up in realization. “Oh, have you been getting her help to spruce up so you can ask out that guard like we talked about?”
Rubbing the back of his head, a light blush peppered Thorax’s muzzle. “Well, I don’t know about that last part, but Rarity’s told me that a new wardrobe might improve my confidence and that does sound nice.”
“Glad to see you’re making headway with making more friends.” Wyatt rubbed his neck. “Wow, listen to me talk. I don’t really know anyone outside of the girls and you guys.”
“That’s because you stick to my sister’s side like the lovesick puppy you are,” Spike teased, poking Wyatt in the cheek. “It’s okay to be apart from her during some of your free time, Wy.”
Wyatt frowned. “I am not lovesick. At least I don’t throw myself at her hooves like you do with Rarity.”
“Hey, I don’t throw myself at her hooves!” Spike protested, snorting indignantly. “That’d be creepy.”
Thorax tittered, shaking his head. “You both need to relax. Is the mayor going to want to talk to the two of you if you’re barking at each other?”
The two had to admit that he was right, collecting themselves before walking up the stairs of city hall. The entry hall was rather ornate, the flag for Fillydelphia standing beside Equestria’s. Just in front of the entrance was a desk with a young mare sitting behind it, her mane cut short.
“May I help you?” she asked, pushing her glasses up.
“Yes,” Wyatt asked, putting himself in front of the desk. “I’m a reporter with a newspaper in Ponyville. I’m writing a piece about the teleporter system being put in this fair city and was hoping I could interview the mayor,” he requested, putting on his best smile.
The mare frowned, eyeing Wyatt up and down. “I’m sorry but the mayor isn’t seeing anyone today.”
“Can you at least let her know and see if she changes her mind?” Wyatt asked, producing a business card. “Some ponies I interviewed seem to have strong opinions of her and I wanted to hear about her policies firsthand.”
Sighing, she took the card. “I’ll see but I’m not making any promises.” Rising from her seat, she moved back and out of sight.
“Thank you!” Wyatt called after her, leaning on the desk. “Well, I feel good about this.”
***
A lone figure gazed down at Fillydelphia city hall, having a clear line of sight to the mayor’s office. They knelt down, watching as the mayor take a swig from a flask.
“I have eyes on target. Alcoholic it seems.”
“We’re not here to take stock of their life choices,” another voice crackled over a radio. “If you’ve got the shot, then your orders are to take it.”
“Filthy animals.” Reaching up, they tapped an emblem on their shoulder. Pink energy surged over them, solidifying into armor. Kneeling down at the edge of the roof, they held their hands out, summoning more of the pink energy. This time it coalesced into a large sniper rifle. “Best we put them out of their misery now.”
The figure steadied their breathing, the mayor’s overwhelmed face lined up in the center of the scope. Mouthing, ‘goodbye’ they pulled the trigger.
The morning reverie rang out across the Wonderbolts Academy, the sun just barely peeking over the horizon. One of Rainbow Dash’s eyes snapped open, the brass instrument ruining her peaceful sleep. Slipping out of the covers, Dash’s body desperately tried to shake off her morning grogginess.
“Twilight better show up today, I can’t do another day of this...” Cracking her back and various other joints, Dash stumbled her way to the bathroom. After making sure she got showered and her teeth brushed, she slipped on her training uniform. Lightning Dust had unsurprisingly gotten worse, and Dash could never find a moment to get the coins away from the crazed mare.
Stopping in front of the sink, Dash sluggishly turned the water on. Cupping her hands under it, she gathered a handful of water before splashing her face. “I have to talk to Spitfire. We’re gonna crash and burn and ponies are going to get hurt.”
Pushing away from the sink, Dash moved to catch Spitfire in her office before breakfast. She couldn’t accuse Lightning Dust of using performance enhancers, she had no proof. The truth was out too, mostly because the medals were probably a matter of national security since they were the source of Spike’s Rider powers. And because saying that magic coins were driving her flight partner insane sounded just that.
‘Wait, she’s a Wonderbolt. She has to have some kind of security okay when it comes to stuff like that, right?’ Dash tapped her chin in thought, nodding to herself. She had a plan set out. First, she inquire about what level of security the good captain had and then tell her the truth if she was okay to tell it to. If not, well she’d figure something out. With her resolve renewed, she rushed over to the office and knocked on the door.
“Come in,” Spitfire called, her voice soft for once.
Dash opened the door, stepped inside and made sure to close the door behind her. “Sorry to disturb you so early in the morning, ma’am. This might seem odd to ask, but what level of security clearance do you have?”
Spitfire looked up from her work, an utterly confused look on her face. “What kind of question is that, recruit?”
“I did say it was odd,” Dash replied, chuckling weakly and rubbing her arm. “But I have something that I need to report, and I need to know your clearance so I can know if I’m allowed to tell you the whole truth.”
“What could you have possibly found here, at my academy, that would not fall under basic military clearances? We’re a fitness examination and precision flight training location, not a military research and development lab.”
Dash glanced around before leaning in. “G-Project stuff, stuff I know is here.”
Spitfire’s brow quirked and she folded her hands atop her desk. “Alright recruit, you have my attention. As Captain, I have top clearance. Now, what did you find?”
“Lightning Dust has three of those dragon medals. They're making her reckless, speed crazy. We have do something before she loses it.”
“I've seen the reports of what those can do,” Spitfire replied, standing up. “Come on, the other recruits should be in the mess hall, we can talk to her there.”
Reaching out, Dash caught her arm. “We can't talk to her in there. What if she goes monster? You want that in a closed area with lots of ponies?”
Spitfire nodded, recognizing her mistake. “Alright, then I'll get on the speakers and call her to the field. Right now, nopony's there.”
“I'll meet you out there.” Releasing Spitfire's arm, Dash snapped a quick salute before rushing out of the room. ‘I need one of those rider’s suits, she'll toss me around like a breezie in a hurricane. No, don't think like that Dash, you can keep her distracted long enough for Twilight to get here.’ Her stomach rumbled at her, showing its displeasure with her decision to skip breakfast. She pushed that away as well, forcing herself to focus on the task at hand as she stepped onto the training field to wait for Lightning.
Flapping her wings, Dash stretched out just in case Lightning went crazy on her. “This is a really stupid idea, Dash. Real smart plan you got here. Just pray to Faust you can outrun her.” chuckling nervously, she settled her wings on her back. “What am I saying, of course I can. I can do sonic rainbooms for crying out loud!”
“What are you yelling about?” Lightning asked, stepping onto the field. “Trying to psych yourself up huh? Can’t say I blame you, you have to keep up with me afterall.”
“Hey Lightning,” Dash said, leaning on a flagpole in an attempt to play it cool after her outburst. “How are you this morning?”
“I’m feeling just fine~” Stretching her wings, Lightning grinned. “Sup with you, Dash? Getting in some early practice?”
“Something like that,” Dash replied, her brow knitting as she tried to consider her approach for what was about to happen. She wished that one of her friends were here, they’d be able to figure out what to say. As she thought this, Aj’s natural advice sprang to mind. Honesty could be her best policy at the moment. “I know what those coins are, Light. You have to get rid of them.”
Lightning scoffed, eyeing Dash with incredulity. “Dash, what are you talking about? These are just coins; why would I have to toss ‘em?”
“They aren't just coins! They’re magic! Magic that’s screwing with your head!” Dash argued pushing away from the pole. “Those things are super bad for you.”
“Magic coins, do you even hear yourself right now?” Lightning asked with a frown. “I’m still the same me I’ve always been. What’s the real problem here?”
“I’m an Element of Harmony!” Dash nearly shouted, throwing her arms out. “I took on Discord, and you’re telling me magic coins are crazy?!”
Lightning’s brow furrowed, letting Dash’s words sink in. “Let’s say I believe you, what’s gonna happen to the coins?”
“We’ll get em to someone who can use them without going nuts,” Dash explained, holding her hand out. “Come on, Light. Don’t make this hard.”
Lightning recoiled, glaring at Dash. “Oh, now I get it, you want them for yourself!” she boomed, clutching at the medals. “You’re jealous that I’ve been outpacing you every step of the way during training!”
“I don’t need magic medals to keep up with you!” Dash shot back, spreading her wings. “We both got here because we had the talent. Keeping those things is like using a flight booster; you don’t need them!”
“Like I’m gonna believe you!” Lightning roared, her own wings flaring out. “These coins were given to me and no one’s gonna take them away!”
“Do you even hear yourself!? You sound like a junkie who needs a hit!” Dash snarled, beating them quickly. “You’re better than that, Light. Snap out of it!”
“Shut up! Shut up!” Lightning cried, yellow energy arcing around her. “I’m the fastest one here! You’re all just trying to weigh me down! To Tartarus with all of you!” Blue and red joined yellow, the trio of electricity surging over her body. Her body bubbled, horrifying cracking sounds coming from beneath her skin. Her legs shifted first, cheetah paw-like armor replacing her hooves. Her wings were the next to change, the feathers becoming like that of a peacock while a round shield-like protrusion grew on her right arm. Her muzzle crushed in on itself, reshaping itself into snout of an orca while her mane disappeared and was replaced with a blue fin.
“That is exactly what I didn’t want!” Bolting into the sky, Dash ran through her options. “Come on, Light! We both know I’m faster than you! You’ll just end up living up to your name and eating my dust!”
Lighting let out a distorted roar, her wings spreading out and she shot into the air in a blur. Dash lost track of her, scanning the skies for her flight partner. Dash only had a split second to search before crying out in pain as a fist slammed into her side and sent her hurtling towards the ground.
“I am the fastest! I am speed incarnate!” Lightning Dust screamed, glaring down at Dash. “No one is going to slow me down!”
“Ow,” Dash croaked, pulling herself into a glide before she could crash into the tarmac. “Okay, taunting the medal possessed pony, not my smartest decision,” she muttered to herself, keeping her eyes on Lightning. “Where’s a Rider when you need ‘em?”
A loud bang rang out from above the lobby of city hall. Wyatt knew it all too well. He started running towards where he had heard it, while ponies milling about the lobby and offices stopped in confusion over the disturbance.
’A gunshot in Equestria!?’ he thought taking the stairs up to the higher floors two at a time. ‘’Riders don’t use normal guns, so who the hell would have a gun!?’ He found the secretary he had talked to earlier slumped against a wall, trembling in a state of shock. He grimaced, noting that her arm had a wound that she was doing her best to slow the bleeding of.
“S-somepony attacked us!” she glanced at him, clutching her wound. “I-I think it was some kind of spell!”
Wyatt grabbed the sleeve of his button up shirt, tearing it off and offering it to the secretary. “Here, use this to absorb the blood. It’s not as good as bandages, but it’s better than your fur.” Letting her take the offered cloth, he rushed into the office she was slumped next to, finding the mayor in a similar state. The other thing he noticed, was a hole in the window.
“Get down!” she ordered as another crack filled the air.
Wyatt dove to the ground, a bookshelf behind him exploding into paper shreds. “How bad are you hurt?” he questioned, not daring to peek out of cover.
“I’m bleeding a lot, but I think I’ll live,” the mayor replied, clutching her side. “Are you that reporter my secretary told me about?”
“Yeah that’s me.” Summoning his driver, he tried to time his transformation. “You good with keeping secrets?”
“Did you seriously just ask a politician that?” the mayor deadpanned.
“You’d be surprised.” Wyatt opened his belt, slipping his card in. “Just make sure you keep this secret nice and tight.” Summoning up his courage, Wyatt heaved himself over the desk even as his transformation started. While the silhouettes converged on him, he put his arms in a crossguard in front of his face and jumped through the damaged window. His transformation offered him some protection, but he could still feel shards of glass dig into his forearms.
Another shot broke the air, catching him in the chest. Luck decided to throw him a bone, his armor having solidified just in time to catch the bullet. It still caused him to stagger a step backwards as he landed, but he’d rather that than have his heart and blood paint the pavement.
“Gonna feel that later.” Grumbling to himself, spread his wings, having assumed his Cassie form. “Okay, asshole, where’d you set up shop?” Taking to the air, he turned his head in the direction where he had been hit in the chest. Narrowing his eyes, he caught a glint of something pink and white a few blocks away. “Is that you?” he muttered, flying towards the object he saw.
His question was answered when a bullet hit one of his wings. The electricity shifted for a moment before returning to their normal shape. Smirking beneath his helmet, he dove towards the mystery sniper.
“Can’t clip my wings, Lee Harvey.” Rotating his body, he pointed his foot forward and let gravity send him hurtling towards the pink figure’s chest. “Alright, who sent you and why? Where’d you even find a gun...?” Wyatt’s sentence trailed off as he took in the assailant. At first, he thought he was staring at the original Pink Power Ranger.
On further inspection, key differences stuck out to him. This figure was clearly male for starters. Instead of the normal, tight outfit, this version seemed more padded, with bits of armor in places including a large, black shoulder pad depicting a golden pterodactyl at its center. Around his shoulders was a white cape with a hood at the top. The gun in question was massive, easily something with enough recoil to break the arm of a normal person, even if they were lying down. In the back of Wyatt’s mind, he couldn’t help but think that the rifle’s aesthetic reminded him of Mass Effect.
The ‘ranger’ stared up at him, the sun reflecting in its helmets visor. “Code Yellow,” he spoke, his voice slightly distorted from his helmet.
“Okay, sure, just ignore me,” Wyatt retorted, irritation creeping into his voice. “I asked you a question, Booth,” he added, firing a bolt of electricity at the sniper.
“YEEEEE!” A thunderous cacophony of noise drowned out all other sound. Mere moments later the enter building shook, lurching towards the ground.
“Seriously?!” Wyatt shouted, taking to the air to avoid falling. “Evil Ranger snipers that are working with Dai-Shocker?!” He watched with a sneer as the ‘ranger’ vanished in a shimmer. Flying down, he came across a crowd of combatmen launching their missile forms at the building. “Hey, mooks!” Wyatt called out, landing and pulling a card from his belt. “I’m the one you want, right? So come and get some!”
The crowd parted, allowing a disturbing monster to step towards Wyatt. It had orange fur and strode on two long, lanky legs. It wore green armor that parted to show bits of its fur and had simple shoulder pads. Its most disturbing feature; the more than half a dozen feline heads contorting into unreal snarls.
“Meow! Look at all these tasty horsies!” One head licked its lips, watching a mare trip over herself. “Let’s do some tenderizing!” Plodding over to a street lamp, it easily ripped it out of the ground. “Come here, I’ll make some kibble outta you!”
Wyatt fired a bolt of electricity at the lamp post in the creature's hands, making its fur stand on end and the creature to seize up. “You're not eating anypony today, Garfield!”
“Meowie! That wasn’t very nice!” Fur bristling, the cat monster chucked the lamp pole at Wyatt.
Wyatt jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding the hurtling pole. Pulling a card out of his case, he took a defensive stance. “What can I say, I'm more of a dog person.” Slipping the card into his belt, he shifted into his Mira armor.
“Oh come on!” The creature rushed forward, shoulder checking Wyatt into the lobby of a bank. “Mr.Meowgi just wants to love you! I can do better than some mangy mutt!”
’This thing is definitely showing up in my nightmares tonight.’ Grimacing, Wyatt brought the sword in his hands up to block a swipe from the creature's claws.
“Meow! I’ll love you to death! I bet Lord Drakkon will give us a pile of fish if we drag your corpse back!” turning on its heel, Mr.Meowgi lashed at Wyatt with its tail.
Using one of the swords surrounding him, Wyatt sliced at the monster's tail. Using another of the swords, he stabbed at the ferocious feline's chest. “Hold on, Lord Drakkon? Who's that?!” he demanded.
“Hiss!” Meowgi reared back, each mouth glowing bright. “Mrrrowww!!” A blast of blue energy burst forth, destroying much of the lobby and sending Wyatt into the vault door; hard enough to dislodge it.
Groaning, Wyatt slowly picked himself up. ’Okay, this thing hits hard. I need something to hit it back with.’
“Mrow! I bet you’d make a good paté!” The vault door lifted into the air, only to come crashing back down onto Wyatt. “I bet it’ll take a dozen smacks!”
Wyatt squeaked in pain, his body locking up for a moment. Adrenaline coursed through his veins, allowing him to block out the worst of the pain to grab two cards from his case. Forcing the cards into his belt, he shifted into his Kuuga Titan form.
“Just a few more and Mr.Meowgi gets to eat like a king!” Raising the door up above its head, it brought it down again with a sadistic laugh.
Wyatt brought his sword up, stopping the metal door from hitting him again. Roaring in exertion, he pushed against the monster, slowly getting up into a kneeling position. “Why can’t you be like the other monsters and just be quiet!?”
“Mrooow!” the monster boomed, trying to force him back down. “And why can't you just be a good meal and let me prepare you?!”
Daring to remove one of his hands from his sword, Wyatt punched the feline fiend in the gut. “I am not food, hairball!”
The monster staggered, allowing Wyatt to slip away from the vault door. Charging, he shoulder checked the creature out of the hole that had formerly been the front door. Meowgi hissed, scrambling to its feet.
“You’re starting to annoy Mr.Meowgi, meow!” the beast informed, its heads hissing and snarling.
“That's a shame,” Wyatt replied, sarcasm dripping from his voice and he grabbed a card out of his case. “Here, let me make it up to you.” With a flick of his wrist, the card slipped into his driver.
”Final Attack Ride: K-K-K-Kuuga!” Rushing forward, Wyatt stabbed the monster in the stomach.
Meowgi roared, knocking Wyatt back with a flailing arm. It stumbled back, clutching at its stomach. Summoning its energy, it moved to fire another blast, only for Spike to slam feet first onto it.
“Took you long enough,” Wyatt snarked, forcibly reverting to his base form. “Why didn't you follow me upstairs?”
“I figured something was up so Thorax and I helped the ponies in that building get somewhere safe,” Spike answered, tapping his foot on one of Meowgi’s head. “So uh, what kind of monster is this?”
“No idea,” Wyatt replied, returning to his Mira form. “It’s not something I’ve seen before. But judging by the puns, I think it’s related to Power Rangers.”
“Mroww!! Don’t talk about Meowgi like Meowgi isn’t here!” The monster pushed itself to its feet
“Believe me, I wish you weren’t,” Wyatt replied, getting into a stance. “Give me a second; OOO, help me find a way to skin this cat.”
“I’ll skin you!” Meowgi pounced on Wyatt, slashing at his chest. “Stupid, stupid human!” One of its head hung limp, staring blankly at him.
Wyatt grinned, an epiphany hitting him. The grin didn’t last long, the full implications dawning on him. “So, looks like you’ve only got eight lives left,” he noted, stabbing his floating swords into the creature’s back.
“Rawr! Tricksie human!” Meowgi wrapped its hands around Wyatt, spinning around to bludgeon Spike with his fellow rider.
“And I thought Opal was bad,” Spike grumbled, pushing Wyatt off him. “You got a plan, Decade?”
“Working on that,” Wyatt said, pulling himself to his feet. “For now, use your unicorn medal to attack him from a distance while I keep him busy.” Ignoring his aching muscles, he readied his swords. “And don’t let his stupid puns distract you.”
“Noted,” Spike replied, switching out his hawk medal for the unicorn. Once his transformation was complete, Wyatt rushed in and crossed his sword with the monster’s claws. Charging his horn, he fired an ice beam at Meowgi’s back.
“Mrooow!” Meowgi screamed, the ice spreading around his back. While the creature recoiled, Wyatt slashed the creature across his belly. “I don’t have my winter coat yet!”
“Dear god do you ever stop talking?!” Wyatt boomed, using all of his swords to attack the beast. “Your voice is like nails on a chalkboard!” He jumped back, avoiding a swipe from its tail before responding in kind with two of his swords.
Meowgi kicked an abandoned cart at Spike, turning its attention to him. “Come here, little draggy! Mr. Meowgi wants to know if you taste like chicken!”
Unfolding the claws on his gauntlets, Spike cleaved the cart in two. “You’re not gonna find out.” Lighting his horn up, he picked up the remains of his cart with his magic and threw them at the approaching monster. “I’m not on the menu, Hairball!”
The monster screeched, splinters of wood sticking out of its fur. “Meowgi doesn’t like you at all! Meowgi’s gonna kill you!” Rearing back, it unleashed another blast of energy in Spike’s direction.
Using his grasshopper legs, Spike jumped over the energy blast.
“Hey kitty!” Wyatt called out, running and stabbing the monster in the back with his sword. “You’re wide open.”
Meowgi yowled, slamming his back into a wall. “Get off me, annoying human!”
Grunting, Wyatt could feel the wall crack under the strain of the attack. He held fast, punching the nearest head of Meowgi. “Not a chance. OOO! Scanning charge, now!” he demanded,, letting go of his sword to pull Meowgi into an armlock.
“What if I hit you!?” Spike demanded, reaching for his scanner.
“You won’t get a better shot than this!” Wyatt retorted, holding the struggling monster back. “Now, hit this thing with all you got! GataKiriBa its eight lives away!”
Spike nodded grimly, unclipping his scanner. “Just don’t die, okay? Twilight will kill me!” Reaching his hand towards his metal container, he was rewarded with a jolt of pain.
A frantic eyed human stepped into view, wielding a forked spear. “Don’t you feel it!? The power calls! The sacred essence of Kuuga fills my every cell! You wretched scaled thing call yourself a rider? How disgusting!”
Wyatt’s eyes widened, taking note of the belt the human was wearing. “You idiot! You let yourself become a Gurongi?! Take that thing off before you go insane!”
“Heathen! You consort with these false heroes and you presume to tell me what to do!?” Amber energy spread over the man’s body, contorting and twisting it into a new, inhuman shape. Brown dominated his body, his head vaguely resembling a boar’s. When his body settled,.the former man let out a bellowing roar.
Wyatt released the cat-monster, kicking it away from him and grabbing a card from his belt. “Spike, you take care of our cat problem. If this guy wants the power of Kuuga, I’ll show it to him.”
“Kamen Ride: Kuuga!”
“Take the cat, OOO. Try and make sure he doesn’t break anything else.” Kicking a chunk of rock at the boar, Wyatt went in low; going for a leg sweep.
“Easy for you to say!” Spike called back, leaning back to dodge an attack from Meowgi and switching out his medals. In a moment, he was in his GataKiriBa form, swinging his armblade into the cat’s side.
The boar retaliated with a stab of his spear, pinning Wyatt’s leg to the ground between the two prongs. “Your struggles are in vain, heretic! I shall show you the true glory of Kuuga before you die!”
“Funny, I was gonna say something similar,” Wyatt replied, gritting his teeth to downplay the pain he was in. Drawing his hand up, he thrust his palm down into the shaft of the spear. He blanched as it remained firm. ‘Okay, this is bad. Very bad.’
“Fool!”The boar lifted a leg, bringing his foot down on Wyatt’s chest. “Take your death with honor, whelp!”
Wyatt hissed through his teeth, the boar managing to hit the spot he had been shot in earlier. “No!” he choked out, grabbing the foot on his chest with both hands. “You need my help. That belt of yours is going to make you lose your mind.” Summoning all the strength he could, he tried to lift the corrupted human off him. Slowly but surely, he was able to pry the foot up, allowing him to breathe easier.
Once Wyatt was in a kneeling position, his hand shot forward and he tore the boar's belt from his waist. The boar howled, his body distorting again; energy emitting erratically from the belt.
While the boar was distracted, Wyatt pushed him off, using both his hands to snap the buckle in half. “Celestia should have incinerated these things when she had the chance.”
The boar let out one last bellow, reverting back to his human form before collapsing to the ground in an unconscious heap. Satisfied with his work, Wyatt tore the forked spear out of the pavement and returned to his feet. Adjusting it in his hands, he hurled it into Meowgi’s back.
“Alright, OOO, let’s send Church back to the cemetery.”
Dash’s breathing came in ragged bursts, just barely managing to stay out of Lightning's grasp. She had been chased to the outskirts of Cloudsdale, ducking towards the mountain to try and outmaneuver her flight partner.
“Come on, Twi, I can barely stay in the air...” Dash fought the urge to wipe the sweat out of her eyes, even a moment’s distraction would be all it took for Lightning to strike.
As if in answer to her prayers, she saw the top of a certain purple balloon in the corner of her vision. She had to stop herself from flying towards her friends, not wanting them to get caught up in the mess.
“Just gotta... hold on...” Dash whimpered softly, already feeling her wings giving out. “Faust damn it, Twi, you’re supposed to be punctual...” Eyes drooping, she was barely aware as she began to plummet towards the ground.
Twilight looked out, gasping as she saw a rainbow streak hurtling towards the jagged rocks below. Slipping her green ring and put it to her belt.
“Wind, please!” A green magic circle appeared beneath the balloon, and Twilight hopped out to pass through it. “Fu, fu, fu, fu!” A whirlwind appeared beneath her, letting her safely rush down and catch Rainbow.
“Gotcha!” Twilight beamed, bringing Rainbow into the balloon.
“About time...” Dash all but whispered, allowing herself to go limp. “Go save my wing pony..”
“Everypony’s a critic,” Twilight said, looking to Maud and Pinkie. “Land the balloon and transform; I’ll try to lead Lightning towards the ground.”
“You got it!” Pinkie waved, quickly setting about altering the balloon’s altitude. “Cya soon!”
Jumping out of the balloon, Twilight summoned her whirlwind once more and flew towards Lightning Dust. “Those medals aren’t yours, Lightning Dust! You have to let them go.” Preparing herself, she summoned her sword. “I’d really like to not hurt you.”
“Must. Go. Faster!” Lightning cried in response, charging at Twilight. The shield on her arm glowed for a moment before a fireball raced out of it.
Twilight hissed, even with her whirlwind the fire tagged her leg. “You want to go faster? I can help with that. First, you gotta catch me!” Turning around, she sped off towards the ground. “Come on, take the bait.”
Lightning roared, chasing after Twilight. She would’ve felt good about this, except the corrupted mare was quickly gaining on her.
“Faster! Faster! Faster!” Lightning cried, unleashing a jet of water at the fleeing rider.
Twilight moved to the side to avoid the stream, watching it crash into a rock and punch a hole in it. “You really need to work on your social skills.” With the ground approaching, she cancelled the whirlwind and fired a barrage of shots at her pursuer.
‘Snarking during a fight? Wyatt’s starting to rub off on me.’ Jumping back, she narrowly avoided Lightning as she made a crash landing. ‘I should be fine as long as I don’t make pop culture references no one understands, I should be fine.’
“Give it to me!” Lightning screeched, scrambling to her twisted paws. With a burst of speed, she backhanded Twilight with her buckler. “Must go faster!”
Twilight skidded along the ground, summoning her whirlwind to stop herself before she could slam into the mountainside. “I’m sorry but I’m here to slow you down.” Firing off a few more shots, she weaved through the trees in a zigzag.
“No!” Lightning screamed, barreling through trees to go after Twilight. “I won’t be slowed down!” Another fireball hit a tree, igniting it like a pyre. “I’m the fastest thing in the world!”
Lightning cried out in pain as Maud, in her Heat Metal form, jumped down from a tree and slammed their staff across her lower back. “There are a few beings that would challenge you on that,” Maud deadpanned. “You nearly killed one of them.”
Lightning flailed around, throwing Maud off her back. “I will race and beat them all!” Spinning around, she fired a jet of water at Maud. “No one will ever beat me! Not now, not ever!”
“Connect, please!” Twilight’s belt called out, a green magic circle appearing in front of Maud to intercept the stream of water. A moment later another circle appeared in front of Lightning, and the blocked attack struck her directly in the chest.
“You’re all leeches! Trying to take what I’ve earned!” Zipping forward, Lightning caught Twilight in the jaw with a knee. “Faust damn you to Tartarus!”
Twilight rolled in the dirt, her hand barely managing to keep a grasp on her sword. While Lightning kept her focus on Twilight; Maud jumped up and jabbed her staff in the back of Lightning’s neck.
“Man, she’s really lost it! Think we can knock some sense into her?” Pinkie asked as Maud whacked Lightning’s head repeatedly.
Picking herself up, Twilight shook off her dizziness. She returned her attention to the fight, tapping her green ring to the hand symbol on her sword. “Wind Slash Strike!” the weapon chimed, a whirlwind springing to life around the blade.
“W, jump off her!” Twilight warned, holding the hilt with two hands. “I don’t want to hit you with this!”
Maud nodded, kicking off of Lightning’s back. She landed with a flourish, slamming the end of her staff against Lightning’s knee.
With Maud out of the way, Twilight swung with all her might, sending razor sharp wind towards the crazed mare. Lightning crumpled to one knee, raising her shield to guard against the wind. The buckler held against the worst of the attack, though small cuts sprang up along her arm.
“Get away from me!” throwing a few more fireballs at Twilight, more trees joined the growing forest fire. “You’re just weighing me down!”
Twilight jumped, using her whirlwind to quickly get out of the way of the fireballs. Switching her sword back to gun mode, she peppered Lightning with bullets. “Maud, can you do anything about that buckler? The entire forest is going to go up if we don’t!”
“I can try to make counter fires,” Maud offered, leaping forward and sweeping at Lightning’s legs. “That could minimize the damage. But that shield looks pretty solid.”
“Do whatever you can, Maud, just keep the mountain from going up.” Switching her weapon to sword mode, Twilight moved forward, slashing at Lightning’s chest. ‘If we can immobilize her, she’ll be more manageable. How do we do that?’
Maud disengaged, the ends of her staff igniting. She sent balls of fire flying, putting them in the path of the burning trees. Once Maud had tossed almost a dozen, she stopped. Any more and she felt that she'd cause more damage than prevent.
“Hey Maud, it's too bad we don't have a big batch of maple syrup or gum!” Pinkie chirped, wishing she could put her hands up. “If we covered her in that stuff, I bet she wouldn't be able to use her shield at all!”
Reaching down, Maud scooped up a handful of soil. “Most of this is clay. If we can get it on her shield, it should absorb the heat, at least for a few minutes.”
“Just what I expected of you, Maud!” Pinkie cheered. “Let's give Twi the assist and make mom some pottery while we're at it!”
Nodding Maud positioned herself to Lightning’s left. “Lightning Dust, you’re a poor flyer with tattered feathers.”
Lightning whipped around, murder in her eyes. “No one insults my flying!” She charged at Maud, her hands extended out in front of her.
“I just did.” Sweeping her staff into a puddle of mud, Maud sent a spray of it flying onto Lightning. “Wizard, the mud will negate her fire for at least a few minutes. We need to stop her by then.”
Twilight nodded, grabbing her sword tightly. She leapt forward, stabbing Lightning between the wings while she charged at Maud. “Then let’s pull out all the stops. It’s time for the curtain to fall.”
Maud moved between the trees, keeping a step ahead of Lightning. “You lack restraint and self-control.” Spotting an outcropping, she closed her driver and swapped out the Metal memory for the Rock memory. Coming to a stop, she gripped her Knuckle. “No wonder the medals worked so quickly.”
Lightning retorted with an incomprehensible vocalization of rage. Flying straight at Maud, she had no recourse when the mare in question leaped up and pushed off her back. She slammed into the mountainside even as Maud uppercut the outcropping. A crack shot out along the stone, piles of rocks suddenly falling on Lightning. Maud bobbed and weaved, avoiding all of the plummeting boulders.
Twilight didn't waste a moment, sliding on her finisher ring. “Hit her with everything you got, Double.”
Tapping the ring to her belt, Twilight’s belt called out, “Very Nice, Kick Strike! Fabulous!” A green magic circle appeared beneath her, a cyclone springing to life around her right leg. Twilight jumped, pointing her leg at the trapped Lightning’s.
Maud inserted her memory into the knuckle duster on her fist, pressing the button on it. “Rock! Maximum Drive!” Punching the ground, a sphere of dirt and stone surrounded her fist. Dashing forward, Maud reared her fist back to punch Lightning in the jaw.
Lightning's armor held for a scant few moments before shattering, the rocks pinning her evaporating under the combined assault. A moan escaped Lightning’s mouth, laying naked in a small crater.
Pulling her ring off, Twilight’s armor faded away. She let out a sigh of relief, kneeling down next to Lightning. “Good thinking with that clay; I never would’ve considered that during a fight.” Carefully, she reached beneath Lightning and pulled out the three core medals she was laying on.
“I study rocks,” Maud replied as she closed her driver and cancelled her armor. Perking her ears, she glanced over her shoulder. “You’re late.”
Spitfire huffed, landing next to the pair. She had swapped her officer uniform for a lightly armored flight suit. A few other Wonderbolts hovered around them, creating a perimeter. “Considering we don't have fancy dancy armor, we decided to hang back. She is secure, right?”
Twilight displayed the medals, slipping her connect ring on and passing them through a magic circle. “They are now. I sent them back home to sit in a container.”
“I was talking about Lightning Dust.” Spitfire knelt down besides Lightning, looking her over. “Will one of you molting morons get the filly a blanket?!” Letting her voice drop, she sighed. “It's a shame, she'd have made an amazing 'bolt.”
“You’re not thinking of kicking her out, are you?” Pinkie asked, popping up behind Spitfire. “Those medals made her bonkers, she’s not entirely to blame.”
“Dash said in her letters that Lightning thought they were just a good luck charm,” Twilight added. “She's a victim in all this.” Using her ring again, Twilight pulled out the letters for Spitfire. “Besides, how would you explain a civilian like her having access to top secret information and knowing what these medals would do?”
“Alright, alright, you made your point.” Spitfire waved off the letters and rose to her hooves. “She stays in but she's on probation. Non-negotiable.”
Twilight nodded, sending the letters back home. As Lightning was wrapped in a blanket and taken away on a stretcher, she couldn’t help but idly hope Wyatt's trip to Fillydelphia was going well.
“Mrow! Meowgi is getting tired of playing cat and mouse!”
Wyatt Dove out of the way as Meowgi unleashed another blast of energy. His entire body hurt, legs crying out for a cessation of movement. Pushing up to his knees, he took in the damage. Three blocks of Fillydelphia had been wrecked, buildings either on fire or full of holes. Thankfully, the duo had whittled Meowgi down to just two heads. Two heads that were adamant on living.
“You already said that after we took out head number three!” Wyatt shouted, slotting in his illusion card and creating four copies of himself. “It's official, you've run out of puns!”
“Wish he'd just shut up!” Spike hacked at Meowgi's tail, sounding just as tired as Wyatt. “He's more annoying than Spoiled was psychotic!”
“Meowgi only has so many ways to tell a joke!” The cat hefted a taxi, using it to ward against a barrage of fire from Wyatt. “It's very hard!” Tossing the cart in a burst of motion, Moewgi swept up Wyatt, one massive paw hand wrapping around his head. “Maybe if I crack your head open, Meowgi will get some new ideas!”
Wyatt grunted, swearing he could feel his skull creak under the pressure of the assault. Pointing his gun up, he fired blindly in a hope to hit the remaining heads and get the monster off him.
“Not much of a cat person are you?’
Wyatt would never be able to explain the elation he felt when Spearhead's synthesized voice reached his ears. Not even Meowgi's screech or the pain of hitting the ground could ruin his high. He got to his knees, turning towards Spearhead's voice. He let out a whistle, Spearhead's armor impressing him.
The helmet was obviously inspired by the Agito form, though more robotic and bulky. The armor was mostly white, with golden accents everywhere. On the elbows, there were odd pistons, steam coming out of them from the recent punch. The legs also had an odd ridge near the ankle that looked like it spun.
“Sorry I took so long, eggheads had to do some last minute fine tuning.” Spearhead reached down, hauling Wyatt to his feet. “I think we'd be doing the city a favor if we neutered this fleabag ”
“Ugh, can we not pun right now?” Wyatt groaned, flipping his gun to sword mode. “The cat’s been making them for like an hour. Also, glad to know the teleporters are working.”
“Meowgi isn't scared of a tin can!” Moewgi stood its ground, hissing at the newcomer. “Good thing Meowgi has built in can openers!” Lunging forward, it brandished its claws at Spearhead...Only for it’s weapons to harmless graze the stallion’s armor.
“Wanna rethink that?” Spearhead asked, uppercutting the monster, the piston firing off again. “Suit’s made out of orichalum. Good luck breaking that.” Drawing his other arm back, he slammed it into one of Meowgi’s remaining heads, causing the appendage to vanish in a spray of bone and red mist.
“Holy crap,” Spike said, watching the fight. “That new suit is awesome.”
“Spike.” Wyatt began, slipping a card into his driver. “Get your finisher ready. I’m done with today. G, we’re ending this guy!”
Spearhead disengaged, leaving Meowgi a cowering mess. “You got it, Decade. Show me what you got!”
“Is it wrong that I feel bad about this?” Spike asked, grabbing his scanner. “He just looks so scared.”
Wyatt all but crammed his card into his driver. “He beat me with a bank vault door,” Wyatt commented. “And he wanted to eat us. I'm making him an ex-cat.”
“Final Attack Ride:D-D-D-Decade!”
“Right.”
“Scanning Charge!”
The two leapt into their air, their legs each hitting one of Meowgi's cheeks. When they landed, Meowgi collapsed and exploded behind them.
Wyatt’s legs gave out, dropping him to the ground. “Worst monster yet. Seriously, fuck that guy.” Reaching down, he undid his transformation. “I’m just gonna lie here for awhile. Wake me up in a week.”
Two monsters in one day was not something he wanted to do again. He had no idea how Celestia was going to pay for this, or calm the populace. What mattered at that moment was figuring out who Lord Drakkon was, and what he had to do with Dai-Shocker.
Somber passed through a dimensional wall, walking into Drakkon's throne room. He could barely containing his anger. He had no patience for the sentries pointing their weapons at him on reflex; using his magic to wrench them from their hands. Drakkon waved a hand from his throne, getting his subjects to stand down.
“Your sentry nearly killed our goal!” Somber boomed, black crystals sprouting at his hooves. “If Wyatt had been a second slower all the time we’ve invested in this operation would be meaningless!”
“Finster 5 could rebuild him if you lack that capability,” Drakkon dismissed, holding back a smirk. He had found what got a rise out of the other leader; something he wouldn't soon forget.
“Rebuilding him is out of the question! You’ll do well to remember that, Drakkon. Unless of course you’d like to take his place?” Somber narrowed his eyes, increasing the flow of his eye smoke.
“Am I interrupting?” the aforementioned Finster 5 inquired as he stepped into view. “My lords, the upgrades are complete. I must thank you, Lord Somber, Midnight was most helpful. Why, without her, I think the subject might have rejected the implants.”
Somber flicked his cape over one of his shoulders, cutting off the eye smoke. “I would expect nothing less of her, the young woman is absolutely brilliant.”
“We’re installing the power ruby now,” Finster 5 replaced, the dim light reflecting off his visor. “He’ll be ready for your assault when you see fit to unleash it.”
“Give him a little time,” Somber replied, his calm mask returning. “We should confirm if our projections are accurate. The last thing we need is our work giving out during his first outing.”
“Leave the girl to the task,” Drakkon ordered, leaning back on his throne. “Now, tell me my dear friend, when will my new sentries grace the battlefield.”
A smile split Finster’s face. “I’m so glad you asked, my lord.”